Legend Wally Lewis says Jamie Soward is the heir apparent to Darren Lockyer as Kangaroos five-eighth
AS FAR as Origin endorsements go, they don't come bigger than this. On the eve of tomorrow night's decider at Suncorp Stadium, King Wally Lewis has declared
Jamie Soward is ready to stand tall on rugby league's toughest stage.
And in a stunning pre-match blessing, the greatest Queensland player in history has also nominated the NSW No.6 as the man to take over from
Darren Lockyer in the Australian Test team.
"I know that if Lockyer came up with an injury, or if something happened towards the end of the year and he couldn't play in the internationals, I'm damn sure the selectors would feel very comfortable putting him in," Lewis said.
The King has long been an admirer of Soward's - calling for him to be picked in the NSW team long before most critics considered him even tough enough for Origin.
Asked yesterday if Soward was ready for The Cauldron, Lewis said: "He seems to have proved it quite comfortably.
"One of the most impressive issues about his play so far has been his performances under pressure.
"He has handled it quite well - whereas two years ago I don't think he would have handled it at all.
"While there have been some questions about his defensive capabilities, he doesn't seem to have had too much of a problem in the opening two Origin games, so that can make him feel a little more at ease."
Lewis said Soward's performances in the opening two games should be enough to silence his critics.
"The door had been opened, so it was just a matter of when was he going to walk out into the big wide world of interstate football and make it all the way," Lewis explained.
"He has handled everything quite well so far.
"He had some people doubting if he was going to be capable of doing it and as good and confident a player as he is, he may have had one or two bits of self-doubt.
"But I think he has been Bennetted in some way - by having (Wayne) Bennett in his corner who no doubt would have spoken to him about a few things that he had to face and how to handle it.
"In game one I think he admitted to having a few wobbly moments, but just to see the way he was able to handle game two I think was very good.
"Apparently, there are a lot of people still doubting that he can go on with it, but I think it has been a case of so far so good for him."
Lewis said performing in tomorrow night's decider at Suncorp Stadium was a bigger challenge for Soward than winning last year's grand final with the Dragons.
"I guess it's a personal issue," he said. "We have had some blokes say that Origin matches are more important than premiership games and then a lot of blokes that have won a premiership say that it is the most important game bar none, including Origin and Test matches.
"But for me, the standard of play far outweighs what you will get in a grand final, without (meaning) any disrespect to the blokes who have played there before.
"In State of Origin they just pick the eyes out of the best players in the competition and put them into one side. On talent alone it far outweighs any club side.
"But the one benefit is that you are not just playing against the best players in the competition, you are playing beside them. And that can provide an enormous boost."
Lewis reckons Soward's rise has been assisted by having St George Illawarra teammates in support.
"I think an enormous boost for him also has been the amount of Dragons blokes he has alongside him," he said.
"If he was still playing for the Roosters and it was only him and (Mitchell) Pearce, it might be a little bit different.
"But when you have (many of) the teammates around you that you trust and you feel comfortable standing alongside, particularly in a defensive line, it tends to ease the issue for you."
